


Home Is Where My Horse Is

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: A World Without Ghosts [4]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Angst Central over here, Angst with a Happy Ending, Band Bonding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Home Is Where My Horse Is, I promise I'll stop hurting Reggie, Mentions of Emotional Abuse, Panic Attacks, Reggie is a Molina (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie's Parents Suck, as you can see it got away from me a little, emancipation, emotional breakdowns, from Lemonade Mouth, mentions of divorce, no ghosts, parents fighting, rated teen for slightly heavy topics and language, the Molinas are the real MVPs, this just hurts ngl, this was originally based on the More Than A Band scene, very angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27394726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: Luke, Alex, and Julie had all been going through the school day with their minds half out the door. None of them could focus during their classes. Alex had been bouncing his leg faster and faster throughout the day, Luke’s notes and handwriting were even more of a mess than usual, and Julie was checking her phone every two minutes.None of them had seen Reggie all day.----------When none of them can get ahold of Reggie, the rest of the band go searching for their best friend. When they find him, Reggie has never looked so distraught the entire time any of them have known him. None of them have a clue what happened, but they're determined to figure it out and help Reggie in any way they can.Can be read without the rest of the series!
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Reggie, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ray Molina & Reggie
Series: A World Without Ghosts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971316
Comments: 24
Kudos: 338





	Home Is Where My Horse Is

**Author's Note:**

> CW: mentions of parental neglect, divorce, emancipation from parental figures, panic attacks, crying, and potential emotional abuse. 
> 
> This is probably one of the easiest to read without having read the rest of the series.

Luke, Alex, and Julie had all been going through the school day with their minds half out the door. None of them could focus during their classes. Alex had been bouncing his leg faster and faster throughout the day, Luke’s notes and handwriting were even more of a mess than usual, and Julie was checking her phone every two minutes. 

None of them had seen Reggie all day. 

He always told one of them if he wasn’t coming to school, but it had been radio silence from the bassist all day. They’d spent their shared lunch period hunched over their phones, trying to get a hold of him. They even had Flynn texting him, even though the two didn’t know each other very well. The newest additions to their friend group probably hadn’t ever seen Alex so anxious in the almost four months since they’d been a band. And Luke was feeding off of the radiating stress of Alex, which led the muscle tee clad boy to not stay still for over a minute. 

“Guys, I’m sure Reggie’s fine. He’s probably just sick or something,” Julie tried to reason, even though their stress was making her stressed, too, in what was probably the worst chain reaction they could be having right now.

Alex shook his head, biting his lip. “No, Jules, you don’t understand. Reggie _always_ texts us back. Even if he’s sick. I can’t remember the last time one of us went a day without hearing from him. Even when he’s grounded or has his phone taken away, he _still_ gets a hold of us.”

“Yeah, I mean,” Luke started, “you’ve texted him. Has he ever taken longer than five minutes to respond?”

Julie let out a sigh, shaking her head. 

Something was wrong with Reggie. Luke had looked like he was on the verge of tears all day. The three of them had been brothers- _family_ \- for longer than they could remember. They’d met in kindergarten and been nothing less than inseparable since. 

“I even called his _mom,_ Alex,” Luke’s voice sounded strained and foreign to even his own ears. Alex looked at him surprised. 

“You called her?”

Luke worried his lip, nodding. Reggie’s mother was. . . something else, to say the least. His father, too. Reggie spent barely any time talking about them and avoided his house as much as he could. They fought. A lot. For the most part, it was just passive aggressive bickering. They were so used to being mad at each other it seemed like their default setting. They glared at each other across rooms, made snide comments that had the other pursing their lips and frowning, and barely stood within three feet of each other anymore. Sometimes, though Reggie pretended it never happened, they would get in screaming matches so loud the neighbors would call a noise complaint. On those nights, Reggie always stayed at one of their houses. Not that either of his parents would even notice. Throughout all of it, it was like Reggie didn’t even exist to them. Unless he was in trouble for something, at least. 

In solidarity with their best friend, Luke and Alex made a point to never interact with Angelica or Mark Peters if they could help it. They paid even less attention to Reggie’s bandmates in the many years in which they’ve known each other than they did to Reggie. Neither of them were even sure Mark knew their names. 

“Did she answer?” Alex asked. Luke scoffed, shaking his head. 

“I didn’t expect her to. Just thought I’d try. God, Alex- I’m really worried about him.”

Alex let out a deep breath, leaning his head against Luke’s shoulder as they slumped together. Julie watched them from the other side of the table with worry flowing through her veins. 

Flynn sat next to Julie, looking between all of them for a minute. “Okay, no more of this. None of you are gonna get any peace of mind just sitting in class the rest of the day. Go look for him!”

Julie, Alex, and Luke all looked at each other. Surprisingly, it hadn’t occurred to any of them to just. . . leave. It wasn’t like they hadn’t ever skipped a class before; why the hell hadn’t they thought of that? 

“Seriously, guys, why are you still sitting here?” Flynn asked, shooing her hands at them. “Jules, you know your dad won’t mind if you tell him why you skipped. Luke, you too- your parents love Reggie just as much as you. Alex-”

“Not like I can do much more to disappoint them at this point,” Alex finished for her with a shrug of his shoulders. He nudged Luke off of leaning against him, and all three of them stood. Julie turned to Flynn. 

“You coming?”

The girl shook her head, “Reggie doesn’t know me very much, and I can cover for you with teachers.”

All three of them flashed her a grateful smile and said quick goodbyes. Since it was lunch period and students were allowed off campus, they had no trouble getting out of the building and piling into Alex’s car. 

“We should head to the studio, make a plan,” Alex stated, already putting the car in drive to pull away from the school. Luke, tucking himself into the passenger seat like he was trying to melt into the soft covering, just nodded. 

The school was only a short distance from Julie’s house, thankfully; Julie _had_ to be a backseat driver the way Alex’s anxiety was causing his turns and braking to jerk as he drove. 

“Don’t you think we should check Reggie’s house?” Julie asked as they climbed out of the car. Luke, who was nervously biting at the skin of his thumb, shook his head. 

“I doubt it- even when he’s so sick he can’t think he usually sneaks out to my place. But. . . I guess it’s worth a shot? Alex?”

Alex has stopped from where he was walking in front of them, staring at the garage. 

“Alex?” Luke asked, himself and Julie coming up on either side of the drummer. “Dude, what are you-”

“Shh!” Alex cut him off sharply. He silently gestured for them both to listen, nodding towards the studio. Julie and Luke fell quiet. 

It was vague, and they had to strain to hear it, but there was a sound coming from the studio. Sniffling, the light twanging of an acoustic guitar, and hesitant, unsure singing. 

_“Home is where my horse is_

_Riding through the trees by the river_

_Feel that summer breeze, smile getting bigger”_

Luke was the first to react. 

“Reggie,” he breathed out, rushing towards the garage. Alex and Julie were right on his heels, opening the doors wide so they could follow Luke into their practice space. 

Reggie startled at the abrupt opening of the door, hitting a harsh sounding chord on what Luke recognized as _his_ guitar and staring at them with a deer-in-headlights look. He was sitting on the couch in a pair of sweatpants, his favorite plain white t-shirt, and what looked like Alex’s purple zip hoodie draped over his torso. He looked _rough_ , to say the least. His hair was such a mess it more resembled Luke’s than his own, his face was even paler than usual, and his cheeks were puffy, tear strains trailing from his reddened eyes to his chin. 

It was like all four of them were frozen to the spot, just looking at each other. Despite the pure worry filling him at Reggie’s state, Alex felt like he could _breathe_ for the first time all day. His eyes were scanning Reggie over and over again, trying to make sure he really was _there_ , looking far worse for the wear but okay and safe. Luke could feel the day’s near tears welling up all over again as he watched Reggie. He had been so worried all day. Worst case scenarios had been running through his head every second it seemed, and all of them ended back with the image of Reggie laying in an ambulance, a trail of blood coming from the corner of his mouth as he violently coughed and doubled over in pain or laying weakened and tired in the hospital bed next to Luke’s own. He almost wanted to scream at the fact that all he’d been able to think about was his brother dying somewhere and yet here was Reggie, sitting in the studio without a scratch on him. If he wasn’t still so worried about him, Luke thought he could be so _angry_ at him for not texting, calling, anything. Julie stood behind the other boys, relief filling her along with a desperate need to run over and _hug_ Reggie tightly, but she stayed back. Reggie was like a brother to her, but she knew that she didn’t know him as well as Luke or Alex did. It pained her that she didn’t know what to do right now, that she couldn’t help. This would just have to be something she let Luke and Alex handle right now. 

This time, Alex was the first to react. He moved forward, careful of Reggie’s reaction. They’d never seen Reggie like this before. So incredibly tense and shaky and frightened looking. Reggie was just staring at them still, looking surprised to see them. Alex kneeled down in front of him, pulling the guitar away and then moving his hands over Reggie’s body- lifting his arms, running his fingers through Reggie’s hair, patting his legs. Checking for any injury they couldn’t physically see, Luke recognized. Reggie just watched him do it at first, looking withdrawn and resigned. After a minute or so, though, Reggie frowned, pushing the drummer’s hands away. 

“Alex,” his voice sounded as though he’d been crying for hours, “Knock it off.”

Alex looked at him, mouth open around a small scoff. Sarcasm dripped from his tone, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out why the hell you’ve been off the grid today. Since you can’t seem to pick up the phone, I figured you must have some physical impairment stopping you.”

Reggie just frowned, “I’m fine.”

“Fine?” Luke interrupted, sounding harsher than he meant it. “You’re not fucking- Reggie, what the hell, man? We’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day!”

Luke’s rant would have gone on for who knows how long, words growing angrier at the thought that Reggie was just trying to brush off Alex’s concern, _his_ concern, but Reggie’s flinch stopped him. He had shuttered almost violently at Luke’s raised voice, and it made Luke’s blood run cold. Alex had jerked back in surprise as Reggie moved, scrambling to give his best friend space. When Reggie recovered, he looked at them with horror at his own actions. 

“Oh god, I didn’t- Sorry. I don’t know what happened,” Reggie tried to pass it off, and the sound caused a twinge in their hearts. It was Julie who stepped forward. 

“Reggie, it’s fine. We just want to know if you’re okay. What happened?”

Reggie just shook his head, not answering. 

Luke stepped closer to Reggie, careful of his steps and tone in fear of making Reggie flinch back again. They’d seen him do it before when someone got too loud or if someone yelled at him. A natural born reaction of living with Angelica and Mark, who were always well on their way to Worst Parents of the Year award. Alex and Luke tried to never comment on it; Reggie hated it if they did and would start shutting down. Frankly, they should have both known better than to use any sort of sarcastic, frustrated, or angry tone with him right now. It was the entirely wrong way to go about this. But seeing the flinch, as saddened as it made him, gave Luke a basic idea of what was going on with Reggie right now. 

“Reg, did something happen with your parents?”

At the mention of them, Reggie’s face twisted and scrunched up, like he was trying not to cry. His attempts failed, though, and Reggie let out a quiet sob, crossing his arms across his chest to hug himself tightly and tucking his head down. The sound of tears coming from him had all three of the others moving. Alex retook his position kneeling in front of Reggie, Luke pressed next to him on the left side of the couch, and Julie took his right side. None of them were afraid of being too close or accidentally scaring him with touch anymore; when Reggie was crying, he _thrived_ off affectionate touch. Sometimes it was the only thing that could calm him down. Julie gripped Reggie’s hand in hers, bringing their joint fingers to rest in her lap. Luke draped one of his arms around Reggie’s shoulders, using his hand to run his fingers through Reggie’s hair. Alex began lightly tapping out a beat on Reggie’s knees, a tactic he’d learned helped ground him. 

“Reg, tell us what happened? We’re really worried about you,” Alex whispered, keeping up the beat of what had slowly become Bright. 

Reggie’s tears had quieted, though the flow was still pretty steady. He looked around at all of them, mouth opening and shutting as he tried to find the right words. Luke’s hand continued its movements through Reggie’s hair, which seemed to be calming the bassist. He leaned into Luke’s side, resting his head against the side of Luke’s neck. 

“I guess you guys know my parents have been fighting a lot lately?” Reg asked quietly. 

They did know that. Reggie had been sleeping over at their houses a lot more lately, coming to practice looking tired, and eating less. Everything that went into an increased number of fighting in the Carter household. Reggie didn’t even need to say anything. 

Alex squeezed his knee in reassurement. 

Reggie choked over his next words, squeezing his eyes shut tightly to try and stem the tide of tears, “Last night- it got really bad last night. Noise complaint bad.”

Alex frowned, meeting Luke’s worried eyes with his own. From their current positions, Luke’s voice ended up muffled into Reggie’s hair, “Why didn’t you call one of us?”

Reggie half shrugged against Luke’s chest. “I wasn’t- they said. . . I just wasn’t thinking, I guess.” 

It wasn’t a real answer, and they all knew it. None of them could remember the last time Reggie hadn’t called one of them on a night when his parents were close to having their neighbors call the cops _again_. Usually, he called Alex first. To talk, to be distracted, to get help sneaking out his windows, whatever. If Reggie didn’t get a hold of Alex on the first try or talking with him didn’t help the building headaches and distress of listening to his parents yell, then Luke was next. One night, when neither of them had been available, Reggie had called Julie. It was just what they did. A plan that had been in place for as long as any of them could remember. 

Alex and Luke looked at each other, neither of them quite sure how to respond. It was Julie who spoke up, squeezing Reggie’s hand and scooting closer to him. 

“What did they say, Reg?”

He looked at her, frowning with confusion. “Huh?”

“You said “they said”. What did your parents say, Reggie?”

He looked utterly deflated at her question. The beat playing out on Reggie’s knees grew more defined, expanding out onto his thighs and shins. 

“It was just- I barely heard them. I put on those headphones Luke bought me and grabbed my bass- I barely heard them. But I had to go to the bathroom, and when I left my room dad was yelling and he said. . . he said-”

Reggie whined a little bit as he cut himself off. Luke shushed him soothingly, pulling Reggie further into his embrace. The three of them waited patiently for the words to form from Reggie’s mouth, knowing whatever it was had clearly sent Reggie into a downward spiral he was still battling. 

“Dad said the only reason they were even still together is that mom though having a stupid kid would fix their marriage.”

Julie sucked in an angry breath as Alex and Luke both tensed visibly. A whole silent conversation passed through Luke and Alex’s eyes, every ounce of them screaming that if Reggie didn’t need them right now and if it wouldn’t be something their brother would adamantly oppose, they’d be on their way to the beach to give Mark and Angelica Peters a piece of their minds right now. Before they could say anything, Reggie continued. 

“Then this morning,” he choked, “they looked so much better. Fucking _happier_. They said they wanted to talk to me before school and-”

Reggie turned his face into Luke’s neck to hide the sob that came out. 

“They’re getting a fucking divorce,” he mumbled out. “And I should be happy. They’ll finally stop fighting all the time, stop pretending they give a shit, but I- god. . . why couldn’t we have just been a fucking _family?_ ” 

Alex, Luke, and Julie all felt their hearts breaking at their best friend’s words. For all their problems, Reggie had always loved his parents. Far more than they deserved in Alex and Luke’s opinions. Alex understood it better than Luke did, though. His parents barely even spoke to him nowadays and never gave up the mindset that something was wrong with him for being gay, but he still loved them. They were his parents. Alex sat up on his knees, using his height advantage on the others to pull Reggie away from where he was sitting against Luke and tucking him into his own embrace. Reggie fell easily into it, hiding his face in the hood of Alex’s sweater and clinging to it, gripping the fabric in his fists. Julie moved to rub her hand up and down Reggie’s back, and Luke hadn’t stopped playing with Reggie’s hair. 

“I ran out,” Reggie said, sound almost completely muffled by Alex’s shirt. “I didn’t even think. I just needed to get out of there. I think I left my phone on the table.”

Reggie pulled back from Alex, running his hands up and down his face. He was in the middle of Julie, Luke, and Alex sitting like this, like a bubble around him. 

“I’m sorry,” Reggie whispered. “For leaving my phone. I just left, I didn’t even realize where I was going until I got here. I didn’t mean to make you guys worry.”

All three of them shook their heads at the apology. Any anger or frustration they’d had earlier had evaporated the second they saw the bass player break down. 

“It’s okay, Reg. You’re here, you’re safe- that’s all that matters,” Alex whispered, resuming his drumming fingers. 

“Yeah, man,” Luke kept his voice gentle and quiet, “And we’re so fucking sorry about. . . but you’re gonna be okay.”

Reggie began shaking his head at that, causing all three of his bandmates to frown. 

“No, I’m- I haven’t turned 17 yet. I have over a year, and- Mom wants to move. To Seattle. She wants me to go with her. But Dad wants me here. They’re gonna do a custody battle. They’re getting divorced and they still won’t stop _fighting!_ ”

Julie looked horrified at the news, Alex felt his heart and breathing speed up, and Luke looked downright scared. If Angelica won, and Reggie moved to Seattle. . . Luke and Alex weren’t sure they wouldn’t die without him. 

“No,” Alex stated. “No, no. No, it’ll be okay. It’ll be fine. We still have all that stuff about emancipation from when Luke was thinking about leaving. We’ll fill out the paperwork, go to a judge- whatever we need to do. We’re not letting them do anything else to hurt you, okay? Not a damn thing.”

Reggie just stared at Alex, tears in his eyes and what looked like the slimmest flicker of hope. Luke nodded along with Alex’s words, the realization of his plan filling him with determination. Julie looked surprised at the news that they had information on emancipation- Luke hadn’t gotten around to telling her that before his parents were the people she knew now, they hadn’t supported his music- but she recovered from the shock quickly enough. 

“Alex is right,” Julie stated. “And if it works, then you can come live here.”

Her words were filled with finality, which had Reggie’s head whipping around to stare at her in surprise. “Julie, no-”

“Julie, yes,” she interrupted. “We have that stupid guest bedroom that we never use, and dad has already told you that he’s here for you for _whatever_ you need. I promise you he’ll agree in a heartbeat. Reggie, you’re family. Dad loves you, Carlos loves you, I love you. You’re my brother, and you’re staying here.”

Reggie’s tears fell again tenfold as he surged forward, wrapping Julie in a hug so tight she could barely breathe. She didn’t pay it any mind, though, hugging back just as fiercely. Alex and Luke both just stared at her, tears of their own in their eyes. _Thank you_ , they both mouthed at her, and she smiled back to them. Even if she hadn’t known them for very long, there was nothing on earth she wouldn’t try to help her boys through. Alex turned his attention to Reggie, taking Luke’s previous job of running his fingers through Reggie’s hair. The lead guitarist was still watching Julie, a look she didn’t know how to describe on his face. There was a hint of a smile playing on his lips and his eyes were shining with. . . something. The longer he looked at her, the more Julie felt her face heat up, and she turned her attention back to hugging Reggie, ducking her eyes down from Luke’s. 

Reggie was soaking her shirt with his tears, but neither of them found it in them to care. 

“I love you guys,” Reggie said when he pulled away from her, and all three of them shot the bassist bright smiles. “Even if I don’t have them- I do still have a family. I have you guys.”

Julie pressed a kiss to Reggie’s cheek as Luke and Alex hugged him. 

“You’re our family, too, Reg,” Alex said with a smile. “Always have been, always will be.”

“Love you, bro,” Luke ruffled his hair this time. Reggie groaned, pushing Luke’s arm away from him- a pointless gesture considering how messed up his hair had already gotten even before the three of them had found Reggie here at the studio. Reggie never wore sweatpants unless he was in bed and the sweatshirt he was wearing, stolen from Alex the last time he’d slept over at his house, didn’t usually make public appearances either. Reggie hadn’t even gotten dressed before he’d left home that morning. 

They’d been sitting on the couch for a few minutes, cuddling up with each other, when Luke frowned. 

“You don’t have any of your stuff,” he stated, looking upset at the thought. “Your bass is here, but- your clothes, your phone, your school stuff, you don’t have any of it.”

Reggie nodded slowly, his face twisting into distress again. “I can’t. . . I don’t want to go back there.”

Luke and Alex shared a look, Luke asking a silent questioning and Alex nodding after taking a moment to contemplate. 

“Your dad works late on Thursdays, right? And your mom has her stupid wine club or whatever?” Alex asked, and Reggie nodded. Alex moved up from where he’d been on the floor all this time, knees protesting the hard ground as he sat on the coffee table instead. “Well, if no one’s home tonight then Luke and I will go. Get your stuff and bring it back here. It’s not like we don’t know how to sneak into your window.”

Reggie laughed a little at that, nodding. Then he asked, “You guys would do that?”

Luke huffed, shoving his shoulder into Reggie’s. “What part of family didn’t you get, you dork?”

Reggie looked down, smiling softly. He looked back up at all of them a moment or so later, looking almost nervous as his eyes flitted between them.

“Can I, um- can I show you guys something?”

All of them just nodded softly, not taking their eyes off their friend. Reggie smiled nervously, then gestured behind Luke, silently asking him to grab something. 

“It’s the, uh-” he started as Luke turned, grabbing the abandoned acoustic guitar, “the song I was playing when you guys walked in. I was going to play it for you guys for Christmas in a couple weeks, but I. . . I think now would be better.”

Luke handed him the guitar with a soft smile, both him and Julie backing up a little bit to give Reggie the proper amount of space. They all gave him looks of encouragement when he placed the guitar in his lap, hesitating a little bit. 

“Luke, I know you hate country, but I, uh. . . wrote this song for you guys, I guess.”

The nervousness in his voice melted their hearts a little bit, and Luke reached over, squeezing Reggie’s forearm. With a deep breath, Reggie began strumming, his voice rough but beautiful as it filled the air soon after. 

_“Home, what is it really?_

_Sometimes it’s a someone and not a place,_

_It’s that feeling of being safe,_

_It’s about who you’re with at the end of the day_

  
  


_Home is where my horse is!_

_Riding through trees by the river_

_Feel that summer breeze, smile gettin’ bigger_

_Home is where my horse is_

_Don’t need a house or a roof_

_I just lace up my saddle, lace up my boots_

_‘Cause home is where my horse is_

  
  


_I don’t need those streets_

_Don’t need those city lights_

_I don’t need no fancy car_

_I just hop on my horse and ride_

  
  


_Home is where my horse is!_

_Riding through trees by the river_

_Feel that summer breeze, smile gettin’ bigger_

_‘Cause home is where my horse is_

_I see the beautiful beast running up to me_

_And I know_

_That I’m home”_

As he let the last note ring out, Luke, Alex, and Julie were nothing close to discrete in wiping away their tears. The metaphor of the song was not lost on them, not for a second. To anyone else listening to it, it just seemed like a lovely country song about a horse. To them, however, it was so much more. 

Rubbing at her cheeks, Julie laughed a little, “Well, shit, Reggie. Now I really do need to learn how to fiddle.”

Her joke landed as intended, wiping the nervous look Reggie was giving them off his face to transform into a genuine smile and laugh. Luke and Alex laughed along with them, and Alex pulled the guitar away from Reggie once again so all three of them could move in, wrapping Reggie into a group hug. As always, it felt right to have all four of them together like this. Like everything that was wrong in the world just washed over their shoulders, and they could sink into the love they had for each other.

They lost track of how long they sat like that, but they eventually let go when they heard the sounds of Ray’s car in the driveway. Julie wasn’t worried about her dad’s reaction when they told him what had happened, but she knew it was a lot. Reggie looked like he was going to puke with nerves when Julie left the garage to go get her father, though. Alex had taken up Julie’s vacated spot, sandwiching the boy between himself and Luke in solidarity and comfort. Reggie had nothing to worry about, of course. 

Julie must have told her dad part of the story before leading him into the garage because Ray moved swiftly into the room, not stopping until he had pulled Reggie up from the couch and wrapped him safely in his arms, whispering that everything was going to be okay. Reggie had sagged into him with relief, eyes falling shut as he got the parental comfort he’d seen so little of in the past 16 years. When he was done hugging Reggie, Ray moved on to Luke and Alex to thank them for taking such good care of each other. He ushered all four of the teens into the house shortly after, appalled to find that none of them had actually bothered to eat today. 

The five of them, soon joined by Carlos, sat around the Molina's kitchen table for what felt like hours. They reveled in the feeling that they were all here and safe, making a plan for how to help Reggie in any way they could. With a call to each of their parents- Alex’s short and impersonal and Luke’s long and full of tearful explanation- the boys all planned to stay the night after Luke and Alex returned from their journey sneaking into Reggie’s house. Julie camped out in the garage with them that night, none of them willing to leave Reggie for a while. Reggie had three more breakdowns that night. One while listening to all of them talk like nothing in the world mattered more than him that night, one during the worst phone call he’d ever listened to between Ray and his parents about Reggie staying with him for the time being and plans to seek emancipation, and one when he’d woken from a nightmare only half an hour after falling asleep. 

But Luke, Alex, and Julie were there for all of them, holding him close and reminding him that they loved him, that this was family in its purest form. As much as they were his home, Reggie was theirs, too. And nothing was getting in the way of that. 

**Author's Note:**

> I FORGOT IT WAS WEDNESDAY SO I'M POSTING THIS REALLY LATE I'M SO SORRY
> 
> I promise that this is the last time I'll emotionally scar/injure Reggie!! I'm so sorry for all the pain I put him through, not gonna lie. But he'll be okay now!! The Reggie/Julie sibling dynamic lives rent free in my mind and I will never get over it. 
> 
> I actually did look up laws for emancipation in California, and it's a fairly easy process (it does require parental consent but for the purposes of these fics we're ignoring that) and I thought it was the best way to get Reggie out of an unhealthy situation. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed <3
> 
> Next up: It seems like everyone but Luke and Julie can see the obvious thing between them.


End file.
